Despite the Indian cricket board's recent attempts to improve the umpiring quality, some of the highly rated men in whites have come up with blunders that have cost some teams dearly.
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Indian umpires need to get their act together
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In the 21st century, the Indian team's poor overseas record has drastically improved; the fast bowlers have started overshadowing the spinners; even outfields of most cricket stadiums in India, which used to be similar to akharas earlier, have become lush green.
One such decision came late yesterday during the second day's play of the Ranji Trophy final when umpire Amish Saheba, fresh from his three slip-ups in Mumbai's semi-final against Saurashtra, adjudged Uttar Pradesh skipper Mohammad Kaif caught behind when the ball clearly missed the bat as the willow hit Kaif's pad.
Such decisions, including Shahvir Tarapore's leg before decision against Ajinkya Rahane on the opening day, have left the cricket fraternity wondering whether the BCCI's recent efforts to have an umpires' coach at all the matches are reaping rewards.
"I haven't observed any drastic improvement in the performance of umpires on the field," said Kaif,u00a0 expressing his disappointment at the decision he got. "All that the teams seek is consistency when it comes to umpiring but it's lacking," Kaif added.
Probably, time has come for the BCCI to crack the whip by getting rid of some of the poor performers.
Mumbai coach Praveen Amre, however, did not write the umpires off completely. "If these are the best umpires we have, probably they should be backed, just like a coach backs a player hoping for him to improve and deliver," Amre said.
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